STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — It may be cold and snowy outside in Steamboat Springs, but business owners Marcia Morgan and Joseph Richardson are hoping to warm things up a bit with their island-inspired menu, which will be unveiled when Marcia & Joe's Kitchen opens Friday, Dec. 7, at 912 Lincoln Ave.

"We are bringing the island here," Morgan said. "Our menu will offer plenty of island flavors, and we are sure going to have jerk chicken and jerk pork platters."

The couple, both originally from Jamaica, has developed a strong local following since Marcia arrived in Steamboat Springs.

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She managed Tacos Del Barco for several years starting in 2012. Richardson joined her in 2015.

Morgan stepped down as manager in 2016 when the new owners of Salt & Lime took over operations of the downtown taco stand, but her dedicated customers continued to wonder where they could find her burritos and tacos featuring her tasty island flair.

"People would come up and ask her where she has been and when was she going to open her own place so that they could have her tacos and burritos," Richardson said.

It's one of the reasons they decided to start offering their food last summer at the Main Street Farmers Market, where some of their old customers and many new ones encouraged them to find their own space.

"I've been after Marcia to open up again ever since Tacos Del Barco closed," Steamboat Smokehouse and Ciao Gelato owner Kyle Love said. "I love her food, I love her presence, and she's a friend."

Love said he bumped into Morgan one day in the alley behind his restaurants, and the conversation that would lead to Marcia & Joe's Kitchen began. Love proposed the couple's new venture could share space with Ciao Gelato.

"The whole point is to take the pressure off of Ciao," Love said. "Building frontage on Lincoln is not the most affordable rent.”

Love said Ciao Gelato will continue to offer its menu, including pizza and a wide selection of gelato, and share the space with Marcia and Joe's Kitchen.

The new restaurant will open its doors from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. The menu will include breakfast burritos and tacos along with an island-style breakfast platter. Lunch will include salads, jerk wings, jerk pork and quesadillas, and the dinner menu will feature burritos, tacos and an island-style dinner platter with a choice of jerk chicken, jerk pork or curry chicken. The menu also will feature curry goat and braised oxtail.

In addition to the items listed on the menu, Richardson said, the restaurant will have a board with daily specials offering customers even more choices.

"I would go with the curry shrimp and the jerk chicken," Richardson said when asked about some of his favorite items on the menu. "All of our dishes are awesome and delicious and seasoned to taste. We want people to keep coming back."

While the venture is new, Morgan and Richardson bring lots of experience.

"This was my career choice back in Jamaica, where I owned a little food wagon," Morgan said. "It's been nice to come here and mix things up a little bit."